Progress on a Second Phase in McGinness Hills

Progress on a Second Phase in McGinness Hills
Ormat and NV Energy Agree to Increase the Power Purchase Agreement by an
Additional 30 MW
RENO, Nev., Nov. 14, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ormat Technologies, Inc.
(NYSE:ORA) announced today that a key milestone was reached in the 30-megawatt
(MW) expansion of its McGinness Hills geothermal power plant complex located
in Lander County, Nevada. NV Energy and Ormat signed an amendment to the
existing McGinness Hills power purchase agreement (PPA) allowing Ormat to sell
63.7 MW (net average annual capacity) from the complex. Under the amendment, a
new energy rate of $85.58/MWh with a 1 percent annual escalator will be set
for the entire complex once Phase II enters commercial operation. The
amendment is subject to approval by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada.
"The favorable performance of the reservoir and the PPA amendment give Ormat
the ability to further expand this geothermal site," explained Yoram Bronicki,
president and chief operating officer at Ormat.
"Phase I of our McGinness Hills geothermal power plant has been in commercial
operation since June 2012 and the strength of the reservoir allowed the power
plant to consistently produce more energy than what was contracted in the
original PPA. We are eager to continue development at the site which we hope
to complete in mid-2015, as well as our work with NV Energy to deliver more
clean, renewable power to Nevada."
The McGinness Hills power plant received favorable project financing terms
from the Department of Energy's loan guarantee program under section 1705. The
proposed expansion was approved by the lenders, John Hancock Life Insurance
Company and the U.S. Department of Energy, and is covered under the existing
financing structure.The economics of the expanded power plant and the
potential availability of government incentives for projects that start
construction before the end of 2013 enabled Ormat to provide a reduced power
price to electricity customers in Nevada.
About Ormat Technologies, Inc.
With over four decades of experience, Ormat Technologies, Inc. is a leading
geothermal company and the only vertically integrated company solely engaged
in geothermal and recovered energy generation (REG). The company owns,
operates, designs, manufactures and sells geothermal and REG power plants
primarily based on the Ormat Energy Converter—a power generation unit that
converts low-, medium- and high-temperature heat into electricity. With over
82 U.S. patents, Ormat's power solutions have been refined and perfected under
the most grueling environmental conditions. Ormat has over 500 employees in
the United States and about 600 overseas. Ormat's flexible, modular solutions
for geothermal power and REG are ideal for the vast range of resource
characteristics. The company has engineered, manufactured and constructed
power plants, which it currently owns or has supplied to utilities and
developers worldwide, totaling approximately 1600 MW of gross capacity.
Ormat's current generating portfolio of 595 MW (net) is spread globally in the
U.S., Guatemala and Kenya.
Ormat's Safe Harbor Statement
Information provided in this press release may contain statements relating to
current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events
that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally
relate to Ormat's plans, objectives and expectations for future operations and
are based upon its management's current estimates and projections of future
results or trends. Actual future results may differ materially from those
projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of
such risks and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" as described in Ormat
Technologies, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on March 11, 2013.
These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and we
undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Ormat Technologies Contact:
Dita Bronicki
CEO
775-356-9029
dbronicki@ormat.com
Investor Relations Contact:
Todd Fromer/Rob Fink
KCSA Strategic Communications
212-896-1215 (Fromer)/212-896-1206 (Fink)
tfromer@kcsa.com / rfink@kcsa.com
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